Ted Haggard: I Deserve What I Got

Former Leading Evangelical Pastor Opens Up About Sex Scandal That Brought Him Down, And What's Gone Down Since

(CBS)  Ted Haggard's fall from grace made national headlines.

As president of the National Association of Evangelicals, he had millions of followers.

But in 2006, his career as a spiritual leader ended abruptly when it was revealed that he'd had a sexual relationship with a male prostitute.

Haggard seemed to be a devoted husband. He was married with five children and pastor of Colorado's New Life Church. But he was living a double life.

When Mike Jones, a self-confessed male prostitute, went public with claims that Haggard had paid for (gay) sex and drugs, Haggard initially denied it, saying he didn't know Jones.

But Haggard eventually admitted that some of the claims made by Jones were true, and he was banished from his church.

In a goodbye letter, read by another pastor, haggard made this confession: "I am guilty of sexual immorality. There is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I've been warring against it all my adult life."

A new HBO documentary titled "The Trials of Ted Haggard," chronicles the former pastor's struggles after his fall from grace.

On The Early Show Friday, Haggard and his wife, Gayle, spoke with co-anchor Harry Smith about the time since their lives changed forever.

Ted noted that he and Gayle are still "very much together," and Gayle agreed, saying, "Absolutely."

Haggard says they have a "better marriage now than before the scandal. Our children are all together with us. The family has come together beautifully. Actually, that's what saved my life."

Haggard said, "I deserve what I got and what I'm getting. But Gayle is the hero of the story. Because of it, our children are fine and they're growing. We're fine."

He admitted, "I deserved what I received. And so the way my view is, if people hate me, if people resent me, if people call me names, that's justice. I deserve that. If somebody's kind or gives me grace or is gentle, then that's a gift.

"But (that's) not true for Gayle. Gayle is not co-dependent. She's not weak, but out of her strength and her devotion, she said, 'I'm going to stay with him.' And because of it, she lost the vast majority of her friends and the fellowship of the church."

Asked by Smith point-blank whether he's gay, Haggard said, "No. Actually, it's complicated. And what I've -- what I've determined is, through all two years now of counseling, is that I just don't fit in the boxes. People want you either to be heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual, whatever. And my counselor says I'm a heterosexual with complications, whatever that means.

"And -- but now, through this counseling process that I've been through, I'm very secure in who I am in my relationship with my wife. Actually, my wife and I always had a wonderful relationship, which confused me. And now, it's better than ever, and I have no compulsive behaviors anymore. It's been great being able to process through these last two years."

The documentary shows the Haggards struggling to get by after being banished by their church, and follows his and their recovery process.

Gayle says she was "brokenhearted" at the time.

Ted says he's "absolutely" still a Fundamentalist, adding he believes "the Bible is the word of God. I believe Jesus is the son of God."

Does he think God hates homosexuals?

"No, I do not,' Haggard responded. "Actually, in this process, Jesus proved his faithfulness to me more than ever. He said he came for the unrighteous, not for the righteous. He said he would leave the 99 and go for the one that wandered away. That's good for me."

[jerrypaulmorgan]

I think that Ted Haggard could use a break. I mean seriously more people should be able to just understand that we all have faults and failures. Really though people should just forgive him.
I found this website that showcases the articles about ted i thought it might be useful:

http://ted--haggard.com

[clovernyc]

I hope Ted Haggard finds the truth about himself, and that he is able to help others find forgiveness and restoration with that truth.

His wife is a phenomenal woman. She and their children should be commended for standing by him through this horribly embarrassing and traumatic time.

[auxcayes]

Man will be free when the last king is
strangled by the entrails of the last priest.
-Thomas Jefferson-

I was so glad to see that Ted was no longer
making trips to the WHITE HOUSE and having
meetings with our stupid ignorant idiot
U.S. President George UU Bush, Jr.

It seems TERRORISM & BRAINWASH exist everywhere!

[poohbearcole]

if this was my husband, i would have left him! I would have left because they told each other vows on the wedding day and he didnt stick to them....if i was her i would have a hard time trusting him, trust and love are the 2 things that keep each other going. i guess they had a LOT of love but how can she really trust him?????? If you want to be with someone eles other then your spouse you should leave them and spare there heart, it hurts more to be lied to. just tell the truth!!!!

[evian_ycnan]

It is all a scam, and a giant money pit.

Posted by J40405 at 06:38 PM : Jan 30, 2009
**************************
I am sorry to tell you, that you are attending church for the wrong reasons. Pray that God gives you understanding.

Posted by blog_fever2 at 06:55 PM : Jan 30, 2009
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Uh, Dude? He doesn`t attend church. You Evangelical idiots really are idiots.

[wl7bzh]

Here''s an idea. What if the Bible is not really a religious book at all, but an account of a higher intelligence performing an experiment on this planet?

Take the story of Adam and Eve. Adam was put to sleep, a rib was taken out and Eve was formed from the.

Adam being put to sleep by anesthesia. Opened up by surgery. A rib was take out to get bone marrow stem cells. A stem cell was altered through genetic engineering and Eve was cloned from the altered stem cell.

It''s a thought.

[wolf77creek]

From the beginning of time religon has been the biggest evil in our lives. It is used to control & scare people into giving up their money, personal lives & sometimes their lives, all in the name of GOD.
In the ancient times the catholic priest made sure that people were tortured in many horrible ways that they devised, in current times they abuse our children. While these church leaders(of all faiths) are up in front of us telling us how we will burn in hell if we do not do exactly as they tell us, they are living high off the hog on our money, molesting our children, & of course it is all forgiven!!! Why do we let people get rich off of us in the name of "God"? If there be a superior being I hope all the religous nuts of the world get their just deserts when the time comes.

[honestabe8]

wl7: i suppose both sides amuse each other.

[wl7bzh]

But, believe what you wish, just be aware that people like me find people like you amusing.

Posted by HonestAbe8 at 03:40 PM : Feb 01, 2009

Kinda funny how both sides of the argument appear to be smirking at the situation of the other side.

[babooph]

The flock he fleeced deserved what they got too.

[honestabe8]

It''s sort of funny to see people place words like LORD and GOD in caps as if makes their argument better. It doesn''t. Maybe it is like the forum version of a preacher....talking about JEEEEEEZUSSSS and how we all need to find him, so we won''t have to face his daddy''s temper tantrum, although evangelical types would call this tantrum "rage" or "judgement". As foolish as it looks to an outsider, people should be free to believe whatever they want, whether it is a Bishop from the Pedophile Proctecting Church questioning the Holocaust or some slack jawed yokel lifting his hands up in praise and saying "Jeeeezusss, toss me the ball". Funny people with funny beliefs.

[honestabe8]

ICARE4UALL: I can see that you are sincere in your beliefs. That''s great. I am an atheist. I cannot ask help from nor can I fear retaliation from a being in which I do not believe exists. The sincerity of those with a different viewpoint is not germaine. No matter how loving and accepting the church is, it very likely accepts a premise of sin, which I find to be ludicrous. But, believe what you wish, just be aware that people like me find people like you amusing.

[icare4uall]

HonestAbe8: We don''t have to face God''s wrath if we have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. The LORD God is not at all petty. I doubt they you have ever been inside of a loving and accepting church. The men and women you will find inside are good, hard working and non-judgemental. We leave the judgeing up to God. My brothers and sisters in the LORD are people full of wisdom and the joy of the LORD. Sin means that we don''t live up to the standards of GOD. But he forgives our sins and forgets them if we ask in the Name of Jesus. Ted Haggard has asked for forgiveness for lying and for not being faithful to his wife, which GOD says is adultery. Mr. Haggard hurt many people and has asked them for forgiveness also. Whether you believe in GOD or not doesn''t change the fact that He IS the Creator of all things, including you. He loves you. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you.

[niceface19]

Even if this guy gets on the electric chair for 1,000 times, his sins will never be forgiven, it''s just too immense.

[niceface19]

Ted Haggard deserves death penalty for helping Bush remained in office for 8 long agonizing years.

[wl7bzh]

Another nail in the coffin of the scam of "God wants you to be rich-send money".

Now if we can get rid of all televangelists with the name Robert, Robertson, Roberts or Bob in their name, then the system will be pretty much cleaned up.

Everybody already is aware of Jessie and Al.

[honestabe8]

icare4uall: every one is a sinner deserving of god''s wrath? perhaps the god you worship is petty and vituperative because the people who created him were petty and vituperative. what do you want haggard to repent over? i guess i find this whole idea of "sin" to be ludicrous, particularly the "everyone sins" schtick.

[icare4uall]

I attend a church full of compassionate people. There is no such thing as a perfect church, because we are all sinners. We are made clean by the blood of Jesus. We have to confess our sins and ask Jesus to cleanse us. We often fail and let the flesh take over. Jesus suffered and took all of our sins upon Himself--past, present and future sins. He knew we would fail at times. But He forgives us if we confess our failures and repent. My GOD is a loving and compassionate GOD. If yours isn''t, then you need to fire him and meet the GOD of the Bible. I really believe that Ted Haggard has genuinely repented. Changing is a process and I firmly believe that Mr. Haggard started that process in 2006. He has asked for forgiveness and I believe he is sincere. His former church has allowed the family to move back to Colorado Springs. Not one of us know the pain of what this family has gone through. The church I attend genuinely cares for people and I feel blessed to be part of it. We are on a journey of "equipping believers to be overcomers." It is not right to put all evangelists into a category. It is not right to judge other people, only GOD knows all the facts.

[karenlewis44]

Most catholics are like this. we posted facts www.theseriouspolice.com

[indamiddle]

HE DESERVES TO GET HIS ARSE KICKED....